The BS Biology curriculum lays the groundwork for strong scientific training with basic course work in mathematics, chemistry, and physics, relevant to biology. Students explore the organization and processes of life across broad areas of the field, from molecules and cells through organs and organ systems to populations, ecosystems, and evolution. Students can select advanced electives to specialize in a subdiscipline of biology such as developmental biology, stem cell biology, microbiology, or physiology.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Biology Major Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Introduction to College | ||
BIOL 1000 | Biology at Northeastern | 1 |
or INSC 1000 | Science at Northeastern | |
Experiential Learning Introduction | ||
EESC 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op | 1 |
Required Biology | ||
Foundations | ||
BIOL 1107 and BIOL 1108 | Foundations of Biology and Lab for BIOL 1107 | 5 |
Inquiries | ||
BIOL 2299 | Inquiries in Biological Sciences | 4 |
Genetics | ||
BIOL 2301 and BIOL 2302 | Genetics and Molecular Biology and Lab for BIOL 2301 | 5 |
Project Lab | ||
BIOL 2309 | Biology Project Lab | 4 |
Biochemistry | ||
BIOL 3611 and BIOL 3612 | Biochemistry and Lab for BIOL 3611 | 5 |
Biology Capstone
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Please complete one of the following options to fulfill the capstone requirement: | 1-4 | |
Biology Capstone | ||
Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
Biology Research Capstone ( concurrent with BIOL 4991 or BIOL 4994) |
Biology Major Electives
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Organismal and Evolutionary Biology | ||
Complete one of the following: | 4-5 | |
Human Parasitology | ||
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy | ||
Current Topics in Organismal and Population Biology | ||
Ecology and Lab for EEMB 2302 | ||
Introduction to Evolution | ||
Marine Biology and Lab for EEMB 2700 | ||
Conservation Biology | ||
Disease Ecology | ||
Animal Behavior | ||
Intermediate and Advanced Biology | ||
Complete three additional 4– or 5-semester-hour courses from the following: | 12-15 | |
BIOL 2321 to BIOL 3999 | ||
Neurobiology of Cognitive Decline | ||
Cell and Molecular Biology | ||
BIOL 5000 to BIOL 5999 | ||
EEMB 2290 to EEMB 5515 | ||
EEMB 5548 to EEMB 5569 | ||
One of the three intermediate/advanced electives can be a research course: | ||
Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 | ||
Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 | ||
Research | ||
Internship |
Supporting Courses
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Mathematics | ||
MATH 1341 | Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering | 4 |
Statistics | ||
ENVR 2500 and ENVR 2501 | Biostatistics and Lab for ENVR 2500 | 5 |
Chemistry | ||
General Chemistry | ||
CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163 | General Chemistry for Science Majors and Lab for CHEM 1161 and Recitation for CHEM 1161 | 5 |
Organic Chemistry | ||
CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312 | Organic Chemistry 1 and Lab for CHEM 2311 | 5 |
CHEM 2313 and CHEM 2314 | Organic Chemistry 2 and Lab for CHEM 2313 | 5 |
Physics | ||
Physics 1 | ||
Complete one of the following lecture/lab pairs. PHYS 1145/PHYS 1146 is recommended: | 5 | |
Physics for Life Sciences 1 and Lab for PHYS 1145 | ||
Physics for Engineering 1 and Lab for PHYS 1151 and Interactive Learning Seminar for PHYS 1151 | ||
Physics 1 and Lab for PHYS 1161 | ||
Physics 2 | ||
Complete one of the following lecture/lab pairs. PHYS 1147/PHYS 1148 is recommended: | 5 | |
Physics for Life Sciences 2 and Lab for PHYS 1147 | ||
Physics for Engineering 2 and Lab for PHYS 1155 and Interactive Learning Seminar for PHYS 1155 | ||
Physics 2 and Lab for PHYS 1165 | ||
Intermediate or Advanced Science | ||
Complete one course from the following: | 4 | |
BIOL 2301 to BIOL 5999 | ||
CHEM 2311 to CHEM 5999 | ||
EEMB 2290 to EEMB 5999 | ||
ENVR 2310 to ENVR 5999 | ||
MATH 2280 to MATH 5999 | ||
PHYS 2303 to PHYS 5999 | ||
PSYC 2290 to PSYC 5999 |
Biology Major Credit/GPA Requirement
Complete 78 semester hours in the major with a cumulative GPA of 2.000.
Due to overlap in course content, double majoring in biology and cell and molecular biology, biology and biochemistry, biology and behavioral neuroscience, or biology and marine biology is not permitted.
Program Requirement
136 total semester hours required
Please note that these are sample plans of study. While the requirements are the same for all students, individual schedules may vary.
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
Year 1 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
BIOL 1107 | 4 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | Vacation | |
BIOL 1108 | 1 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | ||
CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
CHEM 1162 | 1 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
INSC 1000 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
MATH 1341 | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
19 | 17 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Year 2 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
CHEM 2313 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | BIOL 3611 | 4 | Co-op | |
CHEM 2314 | 1 | EESC 2000 | 1 | BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||
ENVR 2500 | 4 | PHYS 1145 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||
ENVR 2501 | 1 | PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||
Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
18 | 18 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Year 3 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
Co-op | PHYS 1147 | 4 | Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | Co-op | ||
ENGW 3307 | 4 | PHYS 1148 | 1 | (Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||
Organismal/Population Bio Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
(Organismal/Population Bio Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
4 | 19 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Year 4 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
Co-op | BIOL 4701 | 4 | |||||
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
0 | 18 | ||||||
Total Hours: 140 |
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
Year 1 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
AP Credit for Biology | 5 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | Vacation | |
BIOL 1000 | 1 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
BIOL 2299 | 4 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | ||||
CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | ||||
CHEM 1162 | 1 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
MATH 1251 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
23 | 18 | 8 | 0 | ||||
Year 2 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
CHEM 2313 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | PHYS 1147 | 4 | ||
CHEM 2314 | 1 | Elective | 4 | PHYS 1148 | 1 | ||
EESC 2000 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
ENVR 2500 | 4 | ||||||
ENVR 2501 | 1 | ||||||
PHYS 1145 | 4 | ||||||
PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||||
16 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||||
Year 3 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
BIOL 3611 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective | 4 | ||
BIOL 3612 | 1 | (Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||
ENGW 3307 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
18 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||
Year 4 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | BIOL 4701 | 4 | ||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | ||||
Organismal/Population Bio Elective | 4 | (Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||
(Organismal/Population Bio Elective Lab) | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
18 | 17 | ||||||
Total Hours: 140 |
Five Years, Three Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
Year 1 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
BIOL 1000 | 1 | BIOL 2299 | 4 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | Vacation | 0 |
BIOL 1107 | 4 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | ||
BIOL 1108 | 1 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
CHEM 1161 | 4 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
CHEM 1162 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
MATH 1251 | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
19 | 17 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Year 2 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
CHEM 2313 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | Co-op | 0 |
CHEM 2314 | 1 | EESC 2000 | 1 | (Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||
ENVR 2500 | 4 | PHYS 1145 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||
ENVR 2501 | 1 | PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||
Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
18 | 18 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Year 3 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
Co-op | 0 | BIOL 3611 | 4 | Vacation | Co-op | 0 | |
BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||||||
ENGW 3307 | 4 | ||||||
PHYS 1147 | 4 | ||||||
PHYS 1148 | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Year 4 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
Co-op | 0 | Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | Vacation | Co-op | 0 | |
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Organismal/Population Bio Elective | |||||||
(Organismal/Population Bio Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Year 5 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
Co-op | 0 | BIOL 4701 | 4 | ||||
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
0 | 18 | ||||||
Total Hours: 140 |
Five Years, Three Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1
Year 1 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
AP Credit for Biology | 5 | BIOL 2301 | 4 | BIOL 2309 | 4 | Vacation | |
BIOL 1000 | 1 | BIOL 2302 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||
BIOL 2299 | 4 | CHEM 2311 | 4 | ||||
CHEM 1161 | 4 | CHEM 2312 | 1 | ||||
CHEM 1162 | 1 | ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||
MATH 1251 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
23 | 18 | 8 | 0 | ||||
Year 2 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
CHEM 2313 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | PHYS 1147 | 4 | ||
CHEM 2314 | 1 | PHYS 1148 | 1 | ||||
EESC 2000 | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
ENVR 2500 | 4 | ||||||
ENVR 2501 | 1 | ||||||
PHYS 1145 | 4 | ||||||
PHYS 1146 | 1 | ||||||
16 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||
Year 3 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
BIOL 3611 | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Vacation | |||
BIOL 3612 | 1 | ||||||
ENGW 3307 | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Year 4 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Vacation | |||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Organismal/Population Bio Elective | 4 | ||||||
(Organismal/Population Bio Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Year 5 | |||||||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | BIOL 4701 | 4 | ||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective | 4 | ||||
Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective | 4 | (Intermediate/Advanced Biology Elective Lab) | 1 | ||||
(Intermediate/Advanced Science Elective Lab) | 1 | Elective | 4 | ||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
Elective | 4 | ||||||
18 | 13 | ||||||
Total Hours: 140 |